by Skyler Grant
Getting the shields power required three separate junction boxes. Quinn inserted a glass shard into each. When he did so his Chaos rune flared, red circuits flaring to life, an almost organic, tangled weave upon the glass that merged with the ship's circuits.
The last shard he saved for the cockpit instrumentation. Most of the systems were still useless, attempting to draw data from parts of the ship that had no power, but he was at least able to activate the shields.
Quinn teleported back to Kalisa who had prepared another six shards.
This much use of Quinn's magic was incredibly draining. Even though they had more than enough mana crystals to keep his power levels up, it was still exhausting. The more he used his magic, the more it also made his arms ache, the soreness soon spreading into the whole of his body.
Engines were next. Whatever else happened, they needed to be able to make an escape. Then sensors and communications. Kalisa had been generous in her estimate, and it took more like half an hour for them to get the ship back mostly operational.
As soon as it was good to go Quinn made his way back to the hold, using a shard to power his wristcomm. "Quinn to assault team. Do you read?"
There was no response.
Dela and Taki had set up portable barricades and had a small arsenal pointed at the entrance to the Endless Maw. Both looked haggard and had multiple medical patches stuck to them.
"Anything?" Quinn asked them.
"They tried to swarm us at first and the others drove them back. They've tried two assaults since then, and we drove them back again. For awhile we heard fighting in the distance, but nothing for awhile," Dela said.
"Not good. I can go in," Kalisa said, walking into the hold. Whatever she'd been doing was as exhausting for her as the teleportation had been for Quinn. He could tell she was about to fall over.
"You're in no shape to fight off an army that might stop them. We need to open comms back up. Is there any way?" Quinn asked.
"Maybe, risky. We can try inserting one of our interfaces into Taki. A more powered-up version. Her implants are the same as Bravo's and Mara's. Enough of a surge, we might get theirs operational too," Kalisa said.
"Risks?" Taki said.
"I'd be shoving a highly charged Chaos magical artifact into technology that is now well-integrated with your biology. At the minimum you might lose your implants for good. You might get Chaos magic. You might become something new," Kalisa said wearily.
"I don't see where we have a choice. Going in there is probably suicide and if we haven't heard from the others they're in trouble. Quinn might be able to get them, but not if we don't know where they are," Taki said.
"Can't you sense magic?" Dela asked Quinn. "You have lost all ties to Jinx? You can't feel her?"
Quinn reached out, he really tried to reach out. It was just too loud. There was magic on the Endless Maw, a lot of magic, and unlike anything he'd felt before.
"I think Kadello has been stockpiling artifacts. Alien ones. It is likely one of them that has done this to us. I can't sense her," Quinn said.
"Then turn me into a science experiment," Taki said.
Kalisa was already working on a long, narrow glass shard adorned with four mana crystals along its length.
"I'm sorry. No real way to be gentle about this," Kalisa said, her hand glowing red as she plunged the shard like a dagger into Taki's eye.
"What the hell," Dela said, taking an astonished step back.
The shard buried itself into Taki's head and Kalisa pressed her hand to the wound, the eye reforming. The healing slower than Jinx would have done it.
Glowing red lines formed a lattice across one side of Taki's face, a circuit pattern dimly glowing.
"Two decks above where we breached. One hundred and sixty yards aft," Taki said, the words pained before she collapsed to the deck.
"I've got her," Dela said, kneeling down. "Go."
It was the right call. Quinn went, pulling his magic in and aiming for where Taki had told them.
33
Quinn had teleported into what looked to be an armory. Lots of guns and a very thick door. It also looked like a bomb had gone off inside. The walls were blackened and gun racks melted and twisted.
Jinx was sprawled against one wall, her runes dull in the way that meant her magic was low. Her top was gone, her flesh dark with soot and scorch marks although she had no injuries that Quinn could see.
The others weren't as lucky. Both Mara and Bravo were bloodied wrecks, still on their feet but Quinn wasn't sure how. They were being watched over by a woman looking almost as rough, one of the agents who had gone with Vess as a guard.
Vess herself looked far less human than she did, form half-shifted to dragon and showing countless injuries.
An exhausted-looking Kat was helping to hold up Tamara, who had several medical patches over nasty-looking wounds.
Ilsa and Kara seemed to be the only ones active and alert. Ilsa's beasts were curled near her sleeping, Kara had little left of her heavy armor except for twisted and blackened metal.
"This didn't go smooth," Quinn said.
Kara spun around, rifle pointing at him until she saw who it was. "I hope to hell you have a way out of this. They're trying to cut through."
"I can take you out one at a time," Quinn said. He didn't want to think about how much it would take out of him, how much it would hurt, and how he wasn't even sure he had enough power left in him for that many trips.
"Get the injured out first," Jinx said, pushing herself to her feet. "I need mana."
Quinn tossed a bag of crystals from around his belt.
Jinx reached in and her runes briefly flared. They were still uncommonly dull.
Quinn had so many questions, but this wasn't the time to ask them. Tamara looked the most wounded, even with the medical patches. Resting a hand on her shoulder he teleported her back to the ship and dropped her off with Kalisa.
By the time Quinn got Bravo, Mara, and the others of their family out he was barely able to stay on his feet.
"Heal," Quinn said, as soon as he materialized in the armory once again.
Jinx rested a hand on him, her face an expression of intense concentration. Quinn felt a minor healing rush, but far weaker than the ones she usually delivered. It took the edge off his pain but nothing more.
"I'm sorry," Jinx said.
"What the hell happened to you?" Quinn asked.
"Kadello is a lot more dangerous than we thought. The things he has on this ship," Jinx said, as she shook her head.
"She soaked some hits, and that surprised him. Some stuff that was supposed to kill the Emperor. It wouldn't have, but it was nasty," Kara said.
The door that she and Ilsa were guarding was now glowing red, sparks hissing off it.
Quinn took Jinx next. He knew she'd have protested if he'd warned her, so he didn't.
"You're falling apart. You should have left me for last. I'd have a chance," Jinx said.
"You're falling apart too," Quinn said. Reaching for his power he drew in as much magic he could and teleported again.
It was weird how much this pushed him, how much it strained him. Normally he was perfectly aware of his location, but as he exhausted his Order magic abilities, Chaos filled the void. He seemed to be in a dozen places at once, or none at all.
No more conversation. Quinn took Kat out without saying a word to her and teleported back without waiting.
This time when he materialized he dropped to his knees and was violently ill. It had been awhile since a jump had made him ill, and it seemed especially bad with it being one of his own. Of course it wasn't just that, there was blood there.
Whatever magical cancer Quinn had, it was eating him alive from the inside. Empowered with each jump he made, with each additional push to his powers.
Ilsa was beside him, her hand resting on the back of his head. Like Kalisa, her healing powers weren't nearly as powerful as those of Jinx, but it was something. Enough to keep Quinn
from collapsing.
"You can do this no more. One jump, you take your wife and you go. I and mine will give them a fight for the ages," Ilsa said.
Kara glanced back. "I'm a Yek. You know I can take whatever they dish out."
Quinn knew that Yek powers weren't infinite. Ilinar had come very close to killing Kara, and he might have were it not for Jinx's healing abilities.
"I don't have another teleport left in me, but my Chaos powers draw on a different source. I can get us to another universe. There is one where this ship is a hulk, no atmosphere. I'll be suffocating. Can you get us back to the breach?" Quinn asked.
Ilsa whistled and a giant tiger rose and padded over to her.
"You'll have a ride. I can keep you conscious and alive, for a time. But my healing ... you understand it has limits?" Ilsa asked.
Quinn nodded weakly.
The others gathered around Quinn. With an explosive blast the armored door crashed inward, but they were already disappearing.
This ship really was alien. In the new reality emergency lighting was on, a sickly sort of green highlighting walls of snake-like, curling metal. It also lacked air.
It isn't pleasing to be dying by the second, to be hanging upon the edge of death. Quinn was only dimly aware as he was flung over the tiger's back and it galloped through the halls as the others ran.
When they reached their destination it took Kara slapping him and shaking him violently to wake Quinn up enough for him to shift them back.
Then he blacked out.
34
Quinn regained consciousness in the hold of the Centauri Bliss. Quinn knew his ship well enough to realize the engines were at full burn, and that the shock rattling his teeth a few moments after awakening must be weapons fire.
Kara was still slapping him hard—was that how he woke up? Quinn was going to lose it again if she kept that up.
"I'm awake," Quinn said with a groan. "Status?"
"Kalisa and Dela are at the controls. We broke away from the ship but are under fire. Jinx doesn't have enough juice left to use the runic sphere," Kara said.
That was bad. That was lots of bad.
"Your body is eating itself alive. You need to rest," Ilsa said.
"No time. Get a med patch. Program it for alertness," Quinn said.
It was a setting generally used in the field or when under fire. When staying alive meant moving even with injuries. A rush of stimulants and painkillers that caused people to do serious harm to their body because you felt alright, but they'd also keep you going.
Kara tapped away at the control panel for a medical patch before slapping it against Quinn's neck.
Pretty much everything that had Quinn feeling horrible started to slip away. He knew it was illusionary, but in the moment it didn't matter. Quinn pushed himself to the feet and ran for the bridge.
When they saw him Kalisa slipped over from the pilot seat to the copilot's while Dela stood. Quinn took his place behind the controls.
"You're high," Kalisa said.
"I know it. I'm still the best pilot we have," Quinn said.
It was true. Kalisa's gifts made her quite skilled, but Quinn still had the edge.
The sensors were flickering in and out. There were a good dozen ships pursuing them, but only three seemed to be keeping pace. Unfortunately three was enough to keep a lot of fire on the ship. Shields were largely depleted and the rear hull armor had already taken a few hits.
Even at full power they were about five minutes out from the Runestone.
"What is going on with our sensors?" Quinn asked.
"I told you. Mana and electrical systems don't mix. We're burning out everything. Sensitive systems like sensors are the first to go," Kalisa said.
Great, taking fire, overwhelmed, everybody half-dead, and the ship was about to burn itself out.
"I need you back there with Jinx. Link in Ilsa and Mara. Do whatever you have to that gets us a use of the sphere," Quinn said.
"Quinn ... I'm running on fumes and the others are worse," Kalisa said.
"I know. Just a short distance—I don't care. I'm half out of my head but I can do the math. We're five minutes to the Runestone in a ship falling apart. We don't have reinforcements that can get here in time," Quinn said.
"And you can only dodge for so long," Kalisa said wearily, rubbing her eyes. "I'll see what I can do."
Kalisa left and Dela settled into the vacant seat.
Quinn's expanded spatial awareness at this point was worse than useless. He still felt badly disconnected in space. He had to rely on sensors which themselves were less than reliable at the moment.
Still, Quinn had to think through the problem facing him. Three gunships were able to keep pace with the Centauri Bliss. They were a drain on the shields, and on his attention. However taking the time to neutralize them would allow the rest of the fleet to close some distance.
It was a balancing act.
Quinn waited his time, keeping up evasive action until one gunship got over-aggressive in firing their afterburners as they came in on a strafing run.
A cut to the engines cost them only a few seconds as the gunship overshot and Quinn was able to put several shots into the vessel.
The gunship spun out of control, but after the shot the Bliss's guns status indicators went red. It had over-heated and wouldn't be usable again.
With one of the gunships gone Quinn resumed maximum thrust.
"Incoming comm signal. From Kadello," Dela said.
"Jinx is busy. Put it through. I'll talk to him," Quinn said.
A screen flickered.
"The Centauri Bliss. You might yet get away. I respect that, you know, bringing the fight to me. And getting away alive," Kadello said. He was a stern-looking man with a number of scars.
"We've killed a lot of would-be Emperors. You're the toughest," Quinn said.
"Captain Jade, or should I call you Captain Tsaro?" Kadello said.
"I haven't really figured that out yet. This call have any purpose besides trying to distract me in a firefight?"
"Did you kill Barr?" Kadello asked.
"Yes," Quinn said, there didn't seem a point in dissembling.
"Vixana will love that. She has wanted him dead for awhile now. I'd hoped to keep playing them against each other." Kadello said this with a weary sigh.
"Is this where you pretend to be a good guy?"
"No, I'm not that much of a hypocrite. But I am a man the Imperium needs. You have no idea of the horrors that lurk out there. At the things that skulk where the night never ends. Work for me. I could use you, I could use all of you."
It was a surprising offer. It was a little intriguing.
"As if you'd let us walk away," Quinn said.
Kadello considered for a moment and waved his hand. The two gunships following the Centauri Bliss cut their engines and began to fall back.
"Why? Why do this?" Quinn asked.
"A gesture of goodwill. I can kill you any time I wish, Captain. I can burn your worlds to ash, I can crush your fleets to splinters. All that you have built and are so proud of, I can destroy. But all that you have done, perhaps, you did in service to the Imperium. Consider my offer. You know where to find me." Kadello killed the comm.
"Huh," Dela said.
Quinn couldn't agree more.
35
The engines and ship systems lasted another ten hours, then once more they were plunged into the cold and dark. It was time enough for one of their fleets to reach them and tow them back to Hope's Reach.
Jinx regained power slowly over the trip. Enough, at least, to keep Quinn alive, if not enough to restore the ship to health. Once they were clear of the system Melody woke up and those with implants were able to use them again.
The family was in a dark mood, as dark as Quinn had ever seen them. They'd seemed unstoppable, but there was no spinning what had just happened as anything other than defeat.
When Quinn next called a family meeting the dinner tabl
e was lit only by emergency lighting, Melody having managed to get the most basic systems running. Unfortunately she hadn't restored any of the cooking devices and they were making do with crackers.
"I know this has been an unexpected setback. The chain of our family is only as strong as our individual links. Let's just go around and share our status. I'm badly weakened both magically and physically, and my condition has me in a lot of pain," Quinn said.
Kara glanced around the table with a wry smile. "I'm me. Unstoppable. I had some body armor trashed and a nice gun melted, but I feel great and could fight a war by myself right now."
Jinx looked around. "Add me to the magical dead column. I took some really nasty hits. Holding myself together took everything I had. More than I had. I'm not crippled for life or anything, but it is going to take awhile for me to recover."
Taki was next. The area around one eye still showed a glowing red network of lines. "Obviously I'm not right. I got shot a lot and then a makeshift Chaos artifact shoved in my eye. I feel pretty good though, better than I should."
Kalisa studied Taki. "Probably the artifact. You're changing, I don't know how. You're not infected with my power, but you're infected with something. I didn't take any combat damage, but I had to create a lot of artifacts in a hurry. I'll be weakened for a few days."
Melody gave them a cheerful smile. "I'm sorry I couldn't have a proper dinner made. I'm doing a lot of work on the ship. I'm okay. Whatever had shut me down, soon as we were out of range I rebooted."
Ilsa said, "I spent a lot of power keeping my companions whole and strong. Still, like Kalisa I'm an Unshackled and we don't stay down for long. A few days and I'll be back to full strength. I think you will too, Jinx, even if you don't feel like it."
"Myself and Kat are unharmed and fully capable," Sand said. "I am working on an upgrade of my systems so no unexpected downtime like that can occur again."
"Flying high on painkillers. Bit battered and bruised, but my implants are back working normally," Dela said.
